SSTI Digest

The North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) will host a six-state regional conference promoting three federal business technology investment programs: the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, the Advanced Technology Program (ATP), and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program. All ten federal agencies participating in SBIR will make presentations and have representatives available for one-on-one sessions with conference attendees. ATP will be the focus of a plenary session led by Marc Stanley, ATP Associate Director for Policy & Operations. The two-day event will be held December 14-15 in Research Triangle Park, NC, and was developed and promoted in cooperation with Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and South Carolina. The event also is supported by the Department of the Navy and the NC Biotechnology Center. More information on the conference and the SBTDC can be found at http://www.sbtdc.org  or by contacting Kay…

College tuition rates and a state's success at retaining its high school graduates for college attendance — both of which can be affected by state policy makers and university administrators — are strong predictors of a state's success in keeping its own recent college science and engineering graduates and in attracting graduates from other states, according to a study from the Southern Technology Council (STC). The report, entitled Where Have All the Students Gone? Interstate Migration of Recent Science and Engineering Graduates, focuses on the role of those graduates in state economic development and, in particular, what factors may predict their migration patterns and put certain states or regions at a disadvantage. As competition for high-tech personnel becomes increasingly fierce, corporations and governments alike are looking for answers to a complex question: How do we stop the "brain drain?" Recent science and engineering graduates can make huge contributions to state and national economies, both in terms of human resources for existing high-tech businesses and often as…

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), in cooperation with members of the semiconductor industry and the U.S. Department of Defense, is launching a new initiative to expand certain long range applied microelectronics research at U.S. universities. This planned new initiative, the Focus Center Research Program, is being structured to utilize long range innovative applied research to meet industry needs. The envisioned Centers will: Concentrate attention and resources on those areas of microelectronics research that must be addressed to maintain the historic productivity growth curve of the industry; Strengthen the university research infrastructure and expand its capabilities in silicon related research; Achieve critical mass through relatively large blocks of funding together with the active participation of industrial visiting scientists; and, Provide the optimal balance of creative freedom and targeted objectives. It is contemplated that individual Focus Centers will be virtual (or distributed), in that they will typically consist of multiple universities. This will…